Turkey's energy minister says Turkey is considering allowing the South Stream pipeline, which would bring Russian natural gas to the West, to pass through its territory.

Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on April 16 the topic would be on the agenda at a meeting of Turkish and Russian officials in Ankara next week.

Yildiz is expected to meet with Aleksandr Medvedev, the deputy head of Russia's state-run Gazprom.

The South Stream pipeline aims to carry Russian gas along the bottom of the Black Sea to Bulgaria and further into Europe.

But Russia's annexation of Crimea has led some European officials to call for the project to be canceled.

Yildiz did not address what difference it would make if the pipeline passed through Turkey rather than Bulgaria, considering some European officials are now calling for scrapping South Stream altogether.

Gazprom's European partners in the South Stream project are Italy's Eni, France's EDF, and Germany's Wintershall.

Eni has already said the project's future is in doubt due to Russia's actions in Ukraine.